


Failure of the Vestra

by bethany81707



Series: Stories of Garreg Mach [25]
Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Apologies, Flash Fic, Gen, Guilt, Heart-to-Heart, Implied/Referenced Torture, Murder, Rejected Apology, Strained Relationships
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-09
Updated: 2020-06-11
Packaged: 2021-02-27 21:15:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22622392
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bethany81707/pseuds/bethany81707
Summary: Dora von Vestra knows he stuffed up by participating in the Insurrection of the Seven. He approaches Hubert to try and set things right, knowing that Hubert will never forgive him.
Relationships: Hubert von Vestra/Edelgard's Sister
Series: Stories of Garreg Mach [25]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1552720
Kudos: 8





	1. A Broken Family

Duke Dora von Vestra hesitated as he prepared to enter his son’s room. He knew what he expected to find- that the torment that had befallen him would have come to a close, that he would no longer be screaming and thrashing in pain. But he did not know what he could expect to see instead. Richell had told him the gist of the effects of the pendants Magdalene had stolen, but confessed he did not fully understand the mechanics himself. He had intended to study them, after all, and this was an edge case he might not have even prepared for if he had completed enough tests for his liking.

“Sir Vestra?” one of Hubert’s maids asked. Dora didn’t want to look at her. He knew the reason she, of all the family servants, could approach Hubert during the pain was because she looked like Magdalene, a reminder that would only haunt Dora. He had allowed Magdalene to suffer as she had. Hubert, outside his knowledge, had paid the price.

“This is to be between myself and Hubert,” Dora said, entering the room and locking the door behind him. Hubert was sitting at his desk, staring at a paper elevated to eye level with magic with a glazed expression on his face. It was clear that, while he had not left this encounter unscathed, he was not a vegetable like Magdalene.

“Would it comfort you to know that I am sorry?” Dora asked.

“No, it would not,” Hubert said. Dora nodded. He had expected as much, and thought it only proper that he at least extend Hubert the courtesy of sharing his regret.

“She is alive,” Dora said.

“The states of the family House Vestra has sworn to protect for generations are whether or not they still have a heartbeat! Who is luckier, Adelheid or Mathilde, you ask? I’m sure it comforts one of them to know they at least did not suffer the fate of the other!” Hubert cried out. Dora knew he could never voice the comforting words Hubert wanted to hear. He had allowed the Insurrection of the Seven to happen so as to assure the safety of his family. It would not be of any comfort to Hubert to know that, seeing as he had suffered greatly physically as well as mentally as a result of the actions of Volkhard.

“How capable are you?” Dora asked.

“I’ve lost my edge. To what extent, I have yet to diagnose. But I have much to relearn before I can call myself a worthy right hand to the surviving Hresvelgs. Who, might I ask, is still alive?” Hubert asked.

“Edelgard is the only remaining Hresvelg who has yet to lose her mind or body. Magdalene lasted longer than everyone else, presumably thanks to you,” Dora said.

“Edelgard… I suppose, if I could have hoped for anyone, I am grateful it was her. She is still inexperienced, has a shallow mastery of tactics and frequently acted naive. Although, I suppose she shall no longer be naive anymore. Small comfort,” Hubert observed.

“I expect you to teach her well,” Dora said.

“She can be taught. But she is not prepared to grab advantages early before they become hard to claim. When Edelgard is ready to make the hard choices she needs to make to return Adrestia to glory, she will have a harder time than Adelheid or Magdalene might have had,” Hubert said.

“But she will succeed. She must succeed, Hubert. This won’t happen again,” Dora told him. He knew he would be losing sleep for the rest of his life knowing that, if the shadowy organisation Volkhard pledged allegiance to were allowed to be left unchecked, they would be free to inflict this suffering again. And again, and again, and so on until the members of their organisation were so widespread as to conquer the entire continent. And, though he was of course ready to share the blame around, he knew far too much of the blame rested on his shoulders.

“Magdalene’s final order to me was to ensure the safety of her surviving siblings. I shall ensure Edelgard lives to see the destruction of all that brought her to ruin,” Hubert said.

“Excellent, Hubert. I expect you hard at work. I cannot tell you ahead of time when Edelgard’s state will be finalised. But if she survives, I expect you ready to stand at her side and make sure she keeps every advantage you can get and more when she’s done. This conversation never happened,” Dora told him. Hubert nodded, getting to his feet as his father left the room. As far as he was concerned, he had just made himself redundant. Hubert had proven himself a stronger Vestra than he could ever dream of calling himself again. Hubert was a better person, period, than Dora.

“...Sir Vestra?” the maid asked. Dora looked up, and Magdalene’s bright face jumped out back at him. He looked away sharply, knowing that it was a trick of his mind, but the maid would undoubtedly question his action. His authority would be undermined.

“Hubert is to become Edelgard’s right hand man. He is to be provided with anything he requires in preparation of that role, whether he asks for it or not,” Dora said.

“Are you sure? Shouldn’t he get some rest?” the maid asked.

“It is in House Vestra’s very blood that loyalty and effectiveness flows. Hubert understands this, and has agreed to make this focus his own. Your job is to facilitate this,” Dora ordered.

“What of you, Sir Vestra?” the maid asked. Dora took in a deep breath.

“I do not believe that answer is fit for your ears. Do as I have ordered for Hubert,” he said. Strictly speaking, his words laid out the true meaning behind his thoughts, but his tone and a maid’s duty to obey meant she was unlikely to spend long picking it out.

Still… he couldn’t hide his disgrace from everyone so easily.


	2. The Taking of the Torch

Dora let out a sigh, hearing the arrival of his son. Predictable, but only because the Vestra family tricks were familiar to him. It was fixable, but low priority. It was only when Hubert was casting his shadow over him ominously that Dora finally sighed, set down his book and got to his feet. It had taken longer than expected for his son to finally appear before him, and that could only mean so many things...

“I’m impressed, my son. You have allowed the Empress to flourish, take her crown and take command. In spite of my house arrest, I cannot be prouder,” Dora told him. Hubert bowed, in spite of his ominous arrival. In spite of everything, he had managed to raise a son with pride in his work and loyalty to the Empress. A son who would do anything for her.

“It is the duty of House Vestra to serve our Empress such. Praise is not due until I have finally unravelled the remaining traces of those who slither in the dark and restore the proper stature to the crown,” Hubert said. Dora nodded, as if the one who allowed ‘those who slither in the dark’ to become so entrenched in Adrestia’s noble houses was not himself. The fact that it was did not go unnoticed by either of them.

“If you do not seek my approval, then you must have another reason to appear before me. I do not intend to overthrow your rule, and work to allow your Princess everything she needs within my power. Surely there is nothing that you could possibly mean to procure from me,” Dora said. Hubert smiled, and held up his hands, allowing dark magic to crackle through them before dispelling it. Dora caught his meaning.

“So you intend to kill me, my son. I understand. Or at least… do I understand correctly? There is a lot one can do with dark magic, something I’m sure you know greater than I,” Dora said. Hubert gave a chilling chuckle.

“Oh yes, if I cast this curse, you will drop dead. And it will not be clear that it was a victim of foul play. The official record will be a heart attack, or some other malady that could spontaneously develop in an old fool. In fact, I believe that is exactly what this curse does. You are going to die, and as far as Fodlan is concerned, it will not be because I killed you. Sure, there’ll be your superstitious types who think otherwise, but let them think,” Hubert said.

“Are you sure that you can accept this, Hubert? Will the rumours that the Empress’s chosen second in command murdered his own father not tarnish the reputation of retainer and Empress alike?” Dora asked.

“Edelgard does not necessarily desire to be remembered fondly. She just wants to see the Immaculate One pried from the groove forged in her throne over a thousand years, and hand a reorganised government to someone else with a dream before retiring. If she even has retirement years to live. She will always be remembered as the Empress of War, and such brutal yet necessary measures will follow her even if she leaves a golden age behind. Yes, I can live with being thought of as the killer of my own father,” Hubert said.

“Can you, Hubert? Being thought of as the kind of man who would kill your father is one thing. Actually being the man who killed his own father, however… there are stories of these acts haunting people to their dying breath,” Dora said. Hubert shook his head, and Dora caught, or at least convinced himself he caught, the hint of regret in his eyes.

“Thunderstrike Cassandra, of the Knights of Seiros, is one example. But I know there are two things I can die knowing. I can die knowing I fought for a better future, or I can die knowing I sat by and watched a horrible present continue. Killing you would be regrettable, but not doing everything in my power to serve the Empress would be even more so,” Hubert explained.

“...Why kill me, again?” Dora asked.

“Authority. In killing you, I will be the unquestioned Marquis Vestra. There is also the matter of revenge, of how much I resent you for the months… years… of torment you subjected me and Magdalene to at the hands of those Agarthans. But if I was just after revenge, you would not have lived this long. Or died this quickly,” Hubert said. Dora chuckled, holding his arms out.

“Then kill me, Hubert,” Dora said.

“...You would accept death so readily?” Hubert asked.

“What was that you said? You could die knowing you fought for a better future, or die knowing you sat by and watched a horrible present continue? I made that choice too. I had the choice between fighting back against the efforts of the Agarthans or falling in line and handing over my sworn duty, and destroying the woman you loved and the family you swore to protect… and watching you suffer for it in more ways than one. Five years… no. Seven years I have regretted my decision, lived with the guilt of destroying so many… so many children… It would be a mercy to be killed, Hubert. To die, knowing the torment I have suffered has come to an end. Kill me, my son… kill me, and grant me my freedom,” Dora requested. Hubert took in a breath. It was clear that his child was coming to terms with what he said. But the man he had become, the soon to be Marquis Vestra, resumed his glare.

“...If I was just after revenge, I would let you live. I would force you to live. But I have a job to do, and knowing that you would choose differently if you could… I will be merciful, Father,” Hubert said. The room darkened around the pair, and a flash of light covered Dora’s eyes.


End file.
